PROPOSAL NAME
Bored Ape Yacht Club/Web3 Documentary
PROPOSAL CATEGORY
Ecosystem Fund Allocation
ABSTRACT
In production since May 2021, BORED AS F*CK is a feature length documentary directed by Francis Bored Apela (BAYC #9081) that tells the comprehensive story of the Bored Ape Yacht Club and the ever evolving world of web3. We’re industry veterans who aped into BAYC a few weeks after mint to tell its story using the very IP that granted us membership into the club. A movie about NFTs directed by an NFT. Today we’re seeking a community grant from the ApeCoin DAO to support the film in our final stages of production / post-production.
AUTHOR DESCRIPTION
Francis Bored Apela (aka BAYC #9081) is a collective of three Los Angeles based filmmakers (Mike Wagstaffe, Joe Heslinga, and Logan Cascia) who have worked together for nearly a decade in film and television. Their first collaboration was the award winning documentary “FOOSBALLERS” which premiered on ESPN and has a 100% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Joe Heslinga is a documentary filmmaker and comedy writer most known for writing / producing the hit animated series “F IS FOR FAMILY” starring Bill Burr, which ran for five seasons on Netflix and was nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Joe has worked in film and television for over 15 years, with credits on Netflix, Adult Swim, TBS, ESPN and more. Joe’s directorial debut and first collaboration with Wagstaffe and Cascia was the critically acclaimed documentary FOOSBALLERS.
Mike Wagtaffe is a documentary filmmaker currently working as a producer at Yahoo! Sports. Before venturing into the non-scripted space, Mike was creative partners with David Zucker (AIRPLANE!, NAKED GUN), where he worked in development for nearly a decade and produced SCARY MOVIE 5 for Dimension Films.
Logan Cascia is a prolific documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, and producer with credits on ESPN, Discovery+, Hulu, and more. His cinematic approach to documentary filmmaking on ESPN’s E:60 and SC FEATURED has won him numerous Emmy Awards, and countless more nominations. He most recently was the director of photography for the ESPN documentary “MIGHTY DUCKS: ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANAHEIM”.
MOTIVATION
We have a strong background in film and television – having produced award winning content for the world’s biggest streamers and platforms. We’re repped by United Talent Agency, one of the entertainment industry’s leading talent and literary agencies.
Our sensibilities range from irreverent comedy to heartfelt documentaries with deep substance.
BORED AS F*CK is somewhere in the middle.
We entered the NFT space as objective documentarians who were fascinated by the early creative potential of NFTs and the cult-like phenomenon of BAYC. We set out to make an authentic, immersive, and captivating documentary about our experience going down the rabbit hole of web3. We intend to tell a story that is fun, irreverent, and authentic - bringing the story of BAYC and NFT culture to a mainstream audience.
We have been living and breathing this space and self-funding this documentary for over two years, amassing over 60 TBs of footage and over 100 interviews. We filmed at the first ever meet-ups in LA, both Ape Fests, Art Basel, and everything in between.
One thing about web3 that continues to capture our attention is the potential for it to disrupt the way traditional media is made. We love the idea that a community can rally behind a project, and that creators don’t have to rely on predatory financial models to see their vision become a reality.
A portion of the documentary follows our own journey into BAYC, and includes the “making of” the documentary itself (and yes, we were rolling during our first pitch to our team and the day we bought BAYC #9081). Having a grant to partially fund the film would be a great way to show the power of the community and could inspire others to take a non-traditional approach with their own creative endeavors.
RATIONALE
Our proposal offers a unique opportunity for the ApeCoin DAO to help bring our documentary to life and to a mainstream audience. The film will not only feature the ApeCoin community through various BAYC storylines, but we’d like to include the AIP process in the film itself. What better way to showcase the functionality of the DAO than to have it featured in the film it partially funded.
In regards to the ApeCoin’s guiding values, our film is certainly weird, bold, and new. Directed by an NFT? Check. A feature documentary funded by a DAO and not a traditional investor? Check. Making an obscure and often misunderstood culture accessible to a mainstream audience? Check.
We have been in talks with and plan to hire artists, musicians, and animators from within the ApeCoin (and greater web3) community to work on the film. For several of our team and crew members, we are in negotiations for them to be compensated directly with $APE, which would expand the ecosystem and onboard new members into the community. Additionally, we plan to license various NFTs from ApeCoin holders for the scripted animated segments in the film. License fees for these would also be paid in $APE.
Animation is the biggest line item in our proposal’s budget, and we feel it is crucial to making the documentary accessible and engaging to a wide audience. Scripted animation is also the perfect way to showcase the various IP we plan to license. Our 2d animated segments (which you can see an example of in our teaser below) will be done under the direction of the amazingly talented Jacopo Lanza (@idrawanimation), who will be bringing Francis Bored Apela to life in different locations throughout the movie (combining live action and animation ala Roger Rabbit). Before entering web3, Jacopo has worked with big names in animation, including Cartoon Network, Disney Jr., and MTV. Recently, he was the creative director for Universal Music’s Kingship, and has been an active member in the community since 2021 when he started animating community members PFPs.
In addition to 2d animation, we will be utilizing a mixture of various other types and styles of animation throughout the film that will be created by different artists and teams we’ve met along our journey into the BAYC and various web3 communities. These humorous segments will be designed to help the audience comprehend the new tech and harder to understand concepts that we will be covering in the documentary. Once the film is complete, these stand alone segments would be great content that could be used across social channels to educate people on blockchain technology.
TEASER:
Our friends at TokenProof have agreed to host our teaser, which includes a sneak peek at our footage and showcases a few of the interviews we’ve shot thus far: BORED AS F*CK
NOTE: Since the documentary is still in production, we decided to keep the teaser token gated for $APE holders only. Just like the DAO, you only need to hold one $APE to be able to access the link, and you will need to have the TokenProof app. For purposes of this proposal, the teaser is meant to be private and confidential much in the same way we would treat materials if we were pitching directly to investors or studios. Once we complete the movie and secure distribution, we will be releasing a public trailer along with other traditional marketing materials.
BENEFIT TO APECOIN ECOSYSTEM
The biggest benefit to the $APE ecosystem is to provide awareness and education through an easily accessible, fun and entertaining documentary that is designed for a broad audience - not just the ones who already know and live in the space. This will be a documentary that can be enjoyed by web3 maxis and non-crypto people alike.
Additionally, we plan to offer additional content, host events, and create merchandise and other collectibles associated with the film that can be purchased/minted with $APE. We will have a ton of additional footage that will be left on the cutting room floor, and we plan to make this available in the form of extended interviews, deleted scenes, and behind the scenes content that can either be purchased directly with $APE or live behind a token gate that can be accessed by anyone that has at least one $APE in their wallet.
Our hope is that a large number of non-crypto people will see the movie on traditional platforms and will be motivated to seek out more information and explore the ecosystem that we showcase in the film.
SPECIFICATIONS
Our production team primarily shoots on Netflix approved Arri cinema cameras (A35 and Alexa Mini) and Arri Master Prime lenses, and we have a bunch of other tools in our bag including RED and Sony FX Series cameras, DJI Drones, Movis, and a ton more. Our post-production suite includes 2022 Mac Studio edit bays and our post-production team works with Avid, Adobe Premiere, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, Pro Tools, and other industry leading software.
For the animated portions of the film, we plan to utilize a variety of animation types and styles, including 2D, 3D, and stop-motion.
Specs for delivery vary depending on the distributor / streaming platform, but we plan to deliver with Dolby Vision, and our sound mix will be optimized for both theatrical and streaming.
STEPS TO IMPLEMENT
BORED AS F*CK is not a speculative project. We have been working on this film for the past two years and our team has already invested a considerable amount of time and money into the film. Should our proposal be approved, we will implement our next steps in production / post-production immediately and seamlessly.
The majority of funds will be used for post production and animation, with the remaining funds being allocated for additional shoots / interviews and to cover delivery costs to a major distributor for both theatrical and streaming. We want the scope of the documentary to be global, and we’d like to add some international dates to our production schedule to showcase the various BAYC communities around the world.
Our core team is fully proficient in shooting, editing and motion graphics, however we will need to build and expand our team in these final stages of production.
Below is a breakdown of line items from our budget-
Additional Production (travel / studio rentals / crew hires / etc) - $30K (7.5%)
Post Production (additional picture editors, motion graphics, compositing) - $100K (25%)
Full Color Animation (2d and 3d - includes character design, animatics, etc.) - $150K (37.5%)
Voice Talent (includes recording studio, pick-ups) - $10K (2.5%)
Music Licensing - $15K (3.75%)
NFT Licensing - $10K (2.5%)
Archive Footage Licensing - $15K (3.75%)
Additional Harddrives $5K (1.25%)
Legal (Clearances / Fair Use Attorney) - $25K (6.25%)
Color Grade -$15K (3.75%)
Sound (includes sound design, music editing, full channel 5.1 and stereo sound mix) - $15K (3.75%
Delivery (includes online / conform, DCP creation, textless versions for broadcast, etc.) - $10K (2.5%)
TOTAL: $400,000
TIMELINE
The project has been in continuous production for the past two years, and with the funds from the proposal, we would implement the next stage of the process immediately. Though the nature of documentaries can make timelines fluid, our team aims to have the film completed by Q4 of this year and will be engaged in confidential negotiations with distributors at that time.
TOTAL COST
$400,000 USD paid in $APE
